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Mend promotes inner healing with outdoor-centric therapy

Salt Lake City — A new Salt Lake City-based wellness and therapy organization, Mend, is blending physical and mental health in a series of executive wellness retreats. Established by licensed therapists, Mend offers small-group holistic health workshops that incorporate outdoor activities and group therapy.

“Mend is about therapy in motion,” says founder Debra Reid, LCSW. “Often, people experiencing depression, anxiety, or a traumatic life event only relate these feelings to their mental state. By adding physical movement, we not only promote body health, the combination directly impacts mental healing.”

Mend incorporates somatic experiencing, a therapy that helps participants become more aware of bodily sensations that stem from mental health issues. People learn to use that awareness to work through painful or distressing situations. In Mend’s unique outdoor-centric workshops, participants will learn to use physical motions from activities like fly fishing, hiking, and yoga to identify and manage difficult personal experiences.

“Utah is fortunate to support such a range of outdoor activities in beautiful, peace-inducing settings,” says Reid. It’s an ideal environment for becoming more connected with one’s health and well-being.”

Mend’s inaugural workshop for men, Healing on the Fly, will take place at Sundance in July 2021. A women-focused workshop will follow in August. Both executive programs are all-inclusive experiences with limited enrollment. 

Mend is a new organization founded this year by Utah native Debra Reid, a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice in Murray. She is joined by fellow practitioner Courtney Leak, LCSW from Charlotte, North Carolina. Information about Mend and workshops like Healing on the Fly can be requested by contacting [email protected] or 801-232-2681.